TORONTO, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index
finished higher on Tuesday as rising bullion prices pushed up
gold miners and the market brushed off soft Canadian growth
numbers and worries over the European debt crisis.

Five of the index's main sectors were lower, however, as
the TSX retreated from the 1 percent gains reached earlier in
the afternoon.

Materials issues finished 2.19 percent higher, powered by
gold miners, which were buoyed by a more than a 1 percent rise
in bullion prices as European debt concerns fueled safe-haven
buying of the precious metal. [GOL/]

Leading the rally was Barrick Gold ABX.TO, which jumped
3.36 percent to C$52.19, and Goldcorp G.TO, which rose 1.88
percent to C$46.59.

Research In Motion RIM.TO shares were among the top
market movers, jumping 5.4 percent to C$63.25 after an analyst
praised the BlackBerry maker's new QNX operating system and
upgraded its rating on RIM to "buy". [ID:nN30271282]

RIM is also putting the finishing touches on its new
PlayBook tablet, due to be released early next year.
[ID:nN29230611] [ID:nN27231916]

"Overall, it's been a pretty good day for the TSX. We've
managed to shake off a couple of negative factors," said Elvis
Picardo, an analyst and strategist at Global Securities.

"The selloff that you're seeing late in the last hour of
trading, it could be because of people squaring positions
before the close of the day. In the overall scheme of things,
the TSX strength today is a little unusual," Picardo said.

Investors brushed off news that Canada's economy had the
weakest growth rate in a year in the third quarter and that
gross domestic product shrank outright in September.

Analysts said the weak data could keep interest rates
unchanged for a longer period than expected. [ID:nN30202447]

The market was also largely undeterred by worries from
overseas, where investors dragged the euro lower due to
concerns over debt levels in Portugal and Spain in the wake of
Ireland's crisis. [ID:nLDE6AT0Z0]

"Even after Ireland got the majority of their bailout
solidified, a lot of the tensions are now being paid to
Portugal and Spain as well as Belgium today," said Youssef
Zohny, an associate portfolio manager at Van Arbor Asset
Management.

Offsetting the strength in the TSX materials group were the
financial stocks, down 0.47 percent, and the energy group, 0.08
percent lower.

Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO, which reports quarterly
earnings on Friday, was the biggest market mover on the
downside, falling 0.78 percent to $54.95.

Suncor Energy SU.TO skidded 0.61 percent to C$34.48.

In individual company news, National Bank of Canada
NA.TO, which reported a 19 percent jump in quarterly profit
and announced a dividend hike after markets closed, finished
down 1.29 percent at C$67.84. [ID:nN30174732]